Apparatus for stretching and drying leather



, M. STEINHARTERQ APPARATUS FOR STRETCHINGIAND DRYIING LEATHER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 18. 1915.

.1 ,3 1 O, 1 48 Patnted July 15, 191 9.

ATTORNEYS fulApparatus for Stretching MAX STEINHARTER, or PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR STRETCHIN G AN D DRYING LEATHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 15, 1919.

Application filed February 18, 1915. Serial No. 9,171.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAX STEINHARTER, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania,have invented a new and useand Drying Leather, ofwhich the following isa specification.

My invention relates to the general class of apparatus, machinery ordevices for stretching and drying hides, skins or leather, and itsobject, primarily, is to provide a much cheaper and more expeditiousmethod of carrying out these operations than-heretofore, and I amfurthermore enabled to avoid the necessity of using tacks to secure theleather to the frame with the resultant liability of their remaining inthe leather and injuring the embossing rolls or other machinery to whichthe leather, in its further and ultimate treatment, may be subjected.

Broadly stated, my invention compre- -hends the employment of a wirenetting or its equivalent firmly secured within a frame or other holder,and adapted to be employed as a medium to receive the lugs, fingers orother hooking devices of clamps towhich they are attached or of whichthey form a part, and which are adapted to be fastened to the edges of askin, or other article, which it is desired to stretch taut fortreatment.

The netting which I employ is preferably composed of strands of wovenwire, the meshes of which may be of any preferred dimensions and whichserve as or compose a perforated or foraminated area or sur-.

face into any one of meshes of which the clam caug t.

When the edges of the skin to be stretched have been provided withhooking clamps or clutches, the clamps by their hooks are easily andmanually secured to the meshes of the netting, with the result thatafter the securing of any particular clamp or clamps to a selected spotor place upon or mesh through the surface of the netting, the remainingclamps as attached to the skin can be manually drawn in any desireddirection to such extent of movement in any given the perforations orhooking device of a may be manually inserted and direction as may beconvenient and desirbodiments hooked or fastened to the no matter inwhat direction radially, so to speak, and outwardly from the edges ofthe skin the clamps may be pulled, there will always when the limit ofthe stretching has been attained be found a mesh intowhich the hook ofthe clamp may be inserted and retained.

The broad ideas which underly my 1nvention are, first, that the articleto be treated can be stretched on the frame much more expeditiously thanis possible with any appliance heretofore in use'for the purpose.Second, there is an entire avoidance of tack holes or any other marks,which heretofore have had to be trimmed away, such trimming sacrificingconsiderable measurement, which can now be saved. vThird, there is, inaddition, a great saving in labor in connection with my invention, sinceI dispense with the step of tacking the leather entirely, the expense oftacking being a very considerable item in this connection.

With these objects in view, and without any limitation as to then-ature'or character of the skin or article to be stretched or thenature or character of the treatment to which the skin. or article is tobe subjected, my invention may be conveniently embodied in the deviceswhich are represented in the accompanying drawings and hereinafterdescribed, it belng understood, however, that these devices constitutemerely typical emwhich I have found it in practice to be convenient toadopt, and that I do not, therefore, confine or limit myself to thedetails of their specific construction.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a stretching apparatusembodying my invention. v

Fig. 2 is a transverse side, sectional, elevation of the same, on thedotted line H of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of a corner of the frame and nettingshown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. -l is a perspective view of a form of clamp which I find itconvenient to employ not only to take hold of the edge of the skin butalso take hold of or catch into any desired mesh of the netting.

This clamp which also is my invention forms the subject-matter of anapplication for patent filed by me on February 18th, 1915, Serial No.9,170, for clamp for leather stretching machines and is not hereinclaimed.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan of a frame adapted to hold a pair ofnettings.

Fig. 6 is a transverse, fragmentary section of the frame represented inFig. 5 on the dotted line y-y of said figure.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a modlfied form of clamp.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts.'

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and 3,1 designates the netting, composed ofstrands of woven wire the meshes of which are of such size as to receivethe lugs, hooks or depending projections of the clamps. 2 is a framepreferably composed of angle-irons and preferably strengthened by curvedbraces 3 indicated as diagonally disposed. The netting lies upon theupper surface of the angle-bar members of the frame and is secured byfastening plates 4 conveniently held in'place by bolts 5.

In order, in the construction under discussion, to retain the netting.in dished or saucer-like shape, clips 6 are used to connect the nettingwith the braces 3.

7 designates the leather, skin or other article to be stretched, and inFigs. 1 and 2 8 indicates the clamps which are clamped on the edges ofthe skins and hooked into selected meshes of the netting.

As already stated, any preferred form of clamp or fastening adapted tobe clamped to the edge of the skin in such a manner as e not toperforate or injure it and which is provided with a dependingprojection, lug, hook, finger or kindred catch, to drop into and connectwith a mesh, may be employed.

Such being the case and notwithstanding that the special construction ofclamp shown Fig. 4: forms the subjecbmatter of a separate applicationhereinbefore referred to, it is proper to explain that the clamp of Fig,4 embodies a fixed clamping member 9 and a movable clamping member 10pivoted together at 11 and adapted to be locked gether by a locking cam12; that the fixed member shown may be of serpentine or sshaped form orotherwise elevated above the netting soas'to give it height or raise itabove the level of the surface of the netting, and that it is providedwith a depending projection, lug or hooking finger, 1-3, and preferablywith an upwardly projecting finger piece whichthe finger of the operatoris adapted to take hold of in thestretching of the skin..

In the double netting construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the frame isconveniently composed of a channel-bar 15 and is provided with fasteningplates 16 to secure the fastening of thetwo nettings 17 and 18 which arespaced some liitle distance apart and preferably occupy parallel planes.

In the construction represented in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a reference to Fig.2'Will indicate that when the skin has been stretched and the hooks ofthe clamps appropriately engaged with the meshes of the netting. theskin will clear or lie at some distance above the lower level of thewebbing. The advanconfine myself to such special constructions,

nor yet, as already stated, do I confine myself to any form of clampingdevice so long as there be used one which does not injure the skin andwhich may be readily shifted or deflected to engage the properly locatedmesh.

Among the advantages incident to my invention in its application toskins and leathers, are that it avoids trimming of the leather and theemploying of experienced hands,that more measurements, so to speak, ofthe skins are effected, while the leather dries more quickly andefi'ectually,- that the frames are practically indestructible andfire-proof,that the device can be used with leather of anythickness,--that the entire skin under treatment can be elevated fromthe "surface,-and that the avoidance of tacks prevents the damaging ofthe embossing machinery. I

The advantages of my invention in connection with its application to thetreatment of patent leather, are that it saves the use of cord intoggling,that in case of the skin breaking away in the oven, it willdrop on the netting and not upon an underlying skin,and that the skinscan be stretched very much more tightly than under any present method,with the result that the leather has but little stretch after beingjapanned and'therefore the finish is less liable to crack.

It 'will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and usefulapparatus for stretching and drying leather, which embodies the featuresof advantage enumerated as desirable in the foregomg description, and

' while I have, in the present instance, shown.

the invention is susceptible of modification in various particularswithout departing from'its spirit or scope or sacrificing any of itsadvantages.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desireters'Patent, is

1. A stretching apparatus, which comprises a netting the surface ofwhich is dished, a frame for holding and supporting said netting, and aplurality of clamping deviceswhichclamp the edges of the article to bestretched and are each provided with a depending member adapted to i behooked into a mesh of the netting. 2. A stretching apparatus, whichcomprises a netting the surface of which is dished, a frame providedwith curved'braces for holding and supporting said netting, and aplurality of clamping devices which clamp to secure by Let-.

the edges of the article to be stretched andare each provided with adepending member adapted to be hooked into a mesh of the netting.

3. A stretching apparatus, which comprises a netting the surface ofwhich is dished, a frame provided with curved braces for' holding andsupporting said netting, and a plurality of.- clamping devices whichclamp the edges of the article to be stretched and each of which isprovided with a hooking member to hook into a mesh of the netting andwith a pulling member to permit of its being manually pulled.

MAX STEIN HARTER.

' Witnesses:

E. HAYWARD FAIRBANKS, FRANK F. SLoooMB, MANUEL STEINHARTER.

